'Hip checked' woman thief may have road rash after Boynton pursuit

A gutsy duo took on a woman who scooped up an iPhone and wallet at the Boynton Ale House and was dragged by her getaway car.

Karen Crispo, 52, and Kris Ruffo, 43, chased after the thief late Wednesday after she grabbed Crispo's iPhone and wallet from their outdoor dining table and dashed.

Ruffo, who had just coached her Palm Beach State College women's basketball team to victory against Broward College, kicked off her heels and ran after the fleeing woman. Crispo, a school psychotherapist, followed her friend's cue.

"Instincts just take over, and adrenaline," Ruffo said Thursday. "It happened within 10 to 15 seconds."

Ruffo grabbed the suspect as she attempted to get into a waiting Ford F-150, Harley-Davidson Edition pickup truck. She hip-checked the thief and slammed the door, where the suspect's lilac blouse got caught.

Meanwhile, Crispo went over to the driver's side and opened the unlocked door which turned the light inside on. The driver panicked and he gunned it, Crispo said. It is unclear whether the driver was ditching the suspect or whether he was aware that she was caught on the door.

He raced out of the restaurant parking lot, at 2212 North Congress Ave., dragging the woman and leaving skid marks. The pair was last seen heading westbound on Gateway Boulevard and north on Congress Avenue, according to a Boynton Beach police report.

Police will review video footage from a red-light camera set up at that intersection to try to obtain suspect information, spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said.

According to the police report, cars on the road honked at the driver trying to alert him to the woman attached to the side of the truck.

Crispo wound up recovering her cellphone and wallet, which the suspect dropped during the scuffle.

Reflecting on the incident, Crispo called Ruffo, also a basketball and softball player during her University of South Carolina college days, a hero.

But she considered far worse scenarios, such as a gun-toting suspect, or potentially getting run over by the getaway car, Crispo said.

"In hindsight, we were absolutely insane," she said. "It was just instincts. My life is in my cellphone. I'm a psychotherapist, and I have clients."

Boynton Beach police alerted local hospitals to notify investigators if anyone came in to be treated for road rash injuries. So far, no one has turned up, Slater said.

The female suspect is described to be in her early 20's, thin and about 5 foot 8 in height with long, brown hair.

The special edition F-150 that got away has orange running boards and a soft leather bed cover, authorities said.

Crispo, who said she felt badly about the suspect's potential injuries, added that if the thief and her getaway driver were dating, she should rethink their relationship.

"It's a big wake-up call, if they're boyfriend and girlfriend," she said, "At least Bonnie and Clyde went out together. Clyde didn't get away."